Who are these roster additions
Rafael Dolis, Mike Parisi, & Blake Parker,
over 2 years ago
Ivy Walls
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Parker was the closer at Iowa last year.
Parisi is a rule 5 pickup from the Cardinals.
Dolis was put on the 40-man roster to protect him from the rule 5 draft.
Any more questions?
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
i got a lot of questions
but most are not related to the topic…..for example, why wont TXRD get rid of the penalty wheel?
Wait for it....POUND SAND Without me this board is Al Yellon talking to himself.....................by BLou
here's a classic - how close does a fly get to the ceiling before it flips over to land?
and does it do a barrel roll or a loop de loop?
Lou Brown: "My kinda team, Charlie, my kinda team..."
when will we live in a world where
the chicken can cross the road without being questions about why?
Wait for it....POUND SAND Without me this board is Al Yellon talking to himself.....................by BLou
do clowns wear really big socks?
baseball.........is Kool Aid the remedy, or the cause of my desire for it
by cooliogirl47 on Feb 15, 2010 9:55 PM CST up reply actions
how many people suffer from
PNEUMONOULTRAMICROSCOPICSILICOVOL
Wait for it....POUND SAND Without me this board is Al Yellon talking to himself.....................by BLou
what makes
dermatoglyphics and uncopyrightable unique to every other word in the English language?
Wait for it....POUND SAND Without me this board is Al Yellon talking to himself.....................by BLou
ding ding ding
we have a wonner
Wait for it....POUND SAND Without me this board is Al Yellon talking to himself.....................by BLou
One night
you wake up because you heard a noise. You turn on the light to find that you are surrounded by MUMMIES. The mummies aren’t really doing anything, they’re just standing around your bed. What do you do?
Wait for it....POUND SAND Without me this board is Al Yellon talking to himself.....................by BLou
scream?
baseball.........is Kool Aid the remedy, or the cause of my desire for it
by cooliogirl47 on Feb 15, 2010 10:25 PM CST up reply actions
What's the most important part of the sandwich?
Wait for it....POUND SAND Without me this board is Al Yellon talking to himself.....................by BLou
Why did Bodhidharma come from the West?
"A waist is a terrible thing to mind." - Terry 'Fat Tub of Goo' Forster
@Twitter as @brommmietze
A borderline legit
baseball question.
Which current Cub without a no-trade-clause would you be least bummed to get DFA’d?
Micah Hoffpauir.
I think he’d have a much better career in Japan.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
Hoff has a NTC?
Say what?!
"Baseball is almost the only orderly thing in a very unorderly world. If you get three strikes, even the best lawyer in the world can't get you off." ~ Bill Veeck
by Musicdude10 on Feb 16, 2010 12:09 PM CST up reply actions
Oh you meant THAT kind of without
I can read, I swear!
"Baseball is almost the only orderly thing in a very unorderly world. If you get three strikes, even the best lawyer in the world can't get you off." ~ Bill Veeck
I guess I'd have to say Hoffpauir, too.
Obviously, it won’t be surprising or particularly heartbreaking if Tracy or Millar don’t work out either.
Air speed of a swallow?
But, I guess you would have to know if it is an African, or European swallow first.
What is your name?
What is your quest?
What is your favorite color?
Yellow….no blue…AAAAAAHHHHH
"Baseball is almost the only orderly thing in a very unorderly world. If you get three strikes, even the best lawyer in the world can't get you off." ~ Bill Veeck
by Musicdude10 on Feb 16, 2010 12:09 PM CST up reply actions
Isn't the speed of a swallow dependent upon the temperature, tastiness, etc. of the swallowed material?
And what, by the way, do small birds have to do with this?
"A waist is a terrible thing to mind." - Terry 'Fat Tub of Goo' Forster
@Twitter as @brommmietze
But I am, but I am...
Even if they do have a certain affinity for cardinals.
"A waist is a terrible thing to mind." - Terry 'Fat Tub of Goo' Forster
@Twitter as @brommmietze
Can't imagine you've never heard the question
“What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?”
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
::being intentionally dense:: It's all a question of oesophagical undulations, convolutions and contractions per second, especially when dealing with contrariwise swallowing
"A waist is a terrible thing to mind." - Terry 'Fat Tub of Goo' Forster
@Twitter as @brommmietze
David Patton
All last season I got pounded to crap for stating that David Patton had no friggin business wasting a roster spot on the Cubs for as long as he did. The David Patton Experiment was an unmitigated and horribly misguided disaster from the beginning.
If Jim Hendry marches this team down that same path with some of these no-name pitchers this spring then I am going to puke in my shoes. We might not be a very good team in 2010, but for the love of God we ain’t the damned Kansas City Royals or Pittsburgh Pirates either.
The Blackhawks and the Stanley Cup in 2010.
must be talking about me?
I think I was one of the few that suggested our system’s pitching was weak enough that we might need another burnable arm between 2010 and 2012. Despite Patton’s numbers, he didn’t cost the Cubs the division.
Anyway, Parker and Dolis can be sent to Iowa or Tennessee with no serious repercussions. Same with Patton. DP & BP have 3 options left, and RD has 4. Mike Parisi is the only one that could require you to vomit in your shoes. (Wash them first.)
Btw, pre-September, what was the record with/without Patton? Jus’ wondering? Gaudin or Vizcaino instead?
Parisi, at least...
… has some major league experience, and two full years at Triple-A.
Patton had not pitched above High-A when the Cubs took him in the Rule 5 draft.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
Not sure I'd call Patton "an unmitigated and horribly misguided disaster."
It’s not like he made or broke the Cubs season. And now the team has a guy with some ML experience and a nice curve ball in Double A. (A recent USA Today team report indicated that’s where he’d be starting the season this year.) Pitching may be king, but pitching depth is its sequined robe.
Gaaah! Common sense discussion about David Patton.
Must !!!! Kill !!!! Messenger !!!!!
/sarcasm/
alright
but are your shoes structurally sound?
Forget all that other stuff. I gotta believe.
by drewishdrewid on Feb 16, 2010 2:34 PM CST up reply actions
I call bullshit
there were maybe 3 people who actually believed Patton holding a roster spot was a good thing.
They were Jim Hendry, Lou Pineilla, and maybe one guy on this board. You got pounded to crap for being the most pompous jackass this site has ever seen. Not for your opinion on Patton
I guess I'm just a worrier, that's why my friends call me whiskers
by Nunyabidness on Feb 16, 2010 9:01 PM CST up reply actions
actually, there was somebody named MDBNIU who was probably more pompous than BLou if you can believe that.
and before that, there was some guy named Blue Mike that would have given both of them a run for their money in the pompousity department.
Man, I shudder to think what would happen if all three of them ever got together at the same time…
Lou Brown: "My kinda team, Charlie, my kinda team..."
An unholy baseball trinity...
"A waist is a terrible thing to mind." - Terry 'Fat Tub of Goo' Forster
@Twitter as @brommmietze
I thought the consensus was that Blue Mike and Blou were the same person
I guess I'm just a worrier, that's why my friends call me whiskers
by Nunyabidness on Feb 19, 2010 1:40 PM CST up reply actions
Yeah!
No way are we those 75 win teams! We are a different breed of 75 win team entirely!
"I'd rather hit home runs you don't have to run as hard." -- Dave Kingman
by BucknerKongCardenal on Feb 15, 2010 10:48 PM CST reply actions
"Who are these f'n guys?"
“These guys don’t look too f’n good.”
www.facebook.com/craighudak
by Craig in South Bend on Feb 16, 2010 9:23 AM CST reply actions
cross him off the list then
I guess I'm just a worrier, that's why my friends call me whiskers
by Nunyabidness on Feb 16, 2010 8:59 PM CST up reply actions
The pitchers
Dolis has a plus fastball, and in instructs, showed a nasty breaking ball and a much improved changeup. He has some weight concerns, but several reports suggested that, if the Cubs didn’t protect him, he would’ve been one of the top picks in the Rule 5 draft. In all likelihood, he is probably a late inning power pen arm, as I’m not sure the durability is there, and to expect his changeup to develop enough to be more than a show-me pitch might be expecting a tad much. He had TJ surgery a couple years back and is slowly working his way back.
Mike Parisi was our Rule 5 pick from the Cardinals. He’ll probably get a shot to compete for the 5th starter/long man job. He throws a 2-seamer, cutter/slider hybrid, while occaisonally mixing in curveballs, changeups, and 4-seamers, IIRC. He was hurt last year. His ceiling is likely that of an end of the rotation starter. That said, for the Rule 5 cost, the Cubs got a guy who was probably as interesting as some of the lower tier starting arms out there.
Blake Parker was a former catcher that showed some power potential. The Cubs moved him to pitching real early, though, and he projects as a possible setup type. Low-mid 90’s fb with a good slider. There are some control problems to iron out.
Dolis will definitely be in the minors, probably AA. As of now, I’d guess Blake Parker goes back to Iowa as their closer.
Since the Cubs do have, in theory...
… one bullpen slot left, Parker might have a shot at it. So might Andrew Cashner.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
I'd love to see Cashner get it
That being said, if he’s not ready or if this limits his chances of being a starter, I’m against it
"Baseball is almost the only orderly thing in a very unorderly world. If you get three strikes, even the best lawyer in the world can't get you off." ~ Bill Veeck
by Musicdude10 on Feb 16, 2010 12:11 PM CST up reply actions
I think Parker will have a shot
but with Caridad and Berg impressing Pinella last fall, and the fact that both were former starters, along with the fact that our opening is in middle relief for a guy that probably won’t get that much consistent usage and may be occasionally asked to go long, I really don’t see Parker as a fit. Only time will tell. I do think they’ll want to carry an actual long option besides Marshall.
Newsflash
The Cubs have 3 wide open jobs to fill in the bullpen as currently constructed. For crying out loud you can’t assume Caridad, Berg, Parisi, Stevens, etc. have nailed down ANYTHING.
A. Jobs will be won in spring training.
B. Given my pessimistic view of the 2010 Chicago Cub pitching staff, the shuttle between Wrigley and Des Moines will be very busy.
The Blackhawks and the Stanley Cup in 2010.
your pessimistice view, and the shuttle between Wrigley and Des Moines have nothing to do with one another
unless you actually think your view of the world actually CHANGES the world around you
I guess I'm just a worrier, that's why my friends call me whiskers
by Nunyabidness on Feb 16, 2010 9:02 PM CST up reply actions
um
when did i say Caridad/Berg/Parisi/Stevens were guaranteed anything. c’mon BLou. What I simply said was that, I think the first two guys have a leg up on Blake Parker because they fit better for what the team is looking for.
As for the pen, whether or not it’s a good pen, time will tell. I’m not sure 3 spots are open, though. I think
CL: Marmol
SU: Guzman/Gray/Grabow
MR: Marshall
I think those 5 are pretty much a solid bet to be in the pen to start the year. Assuming a 12 man staff, that leaves 2 spots. Now, the situation will evolve a bit as the season progresses, with Lilly’s return, but at the beginning of the season, we are looking to fill 2 rotation spots behind Dempster/Zambrano/Wells. There seems a strong chance that it’ll be Gorzelanny/Samardzija, although Parisi will get a shot and maybe Silva. For now, let’s assume Gorzelanny/Samardzija.
That leaves 2 pen spots. Assuming there isn’t a surprise arm in camp, the other arms left on the 40 man would be: Berg/Caridad/Atkins/Dolis/Gaub/Mateo/Parker/Patton/Parisi/Silva/Stevens. That’s the crop I’m looking at when I suggest that Berg/Caridad have a leg up for the final two spots, but no way did I say it was a lock. Dolis is almost guaranteed to be in the minors, and the same likely holds for Marcos Mateo. I’ve got a tough time seeing them carry 3 pen lefties, so if Marshall is in the pen, I think Gaub is in AAA. Atkins doesn’t really have the stuff, and I’m not sure LR and LP are too enthused with Patton at the moment.
So … that leaves Berg/Caridad/Parker/Parisi/Silva/Stevens. Again, I’m not saying anyone is a lock, just explaining why I think Berg/Caridad have a leg up in the race, IMO, as of now. When you factor that the final 2 pen roles are middle relief/long man options, a guy like Berg, as a former starter with a plus weapon (a hard mid-90’s sinker that gets good movement), there stands a chance that, with a consistent spring, he could make it. Caridad is known as a strike thrower, which may endear him, particularly since, out of the pen, he gets a bit more juice on the fb.
That said, I could see any combination of guys fill out the last two spots. I just think that, as of now, if I had to take a guess, they’d send Parker back to AAA to close and work on his command.
It’s also possible that my initial premise, that Samardzija/Gorzelanny will fill out the rotation is off. That said, I think they’ll put one lefty there, and Gorzelanny has to be the favorite ahead of Marshall right now, since LP prefers Sean in the pen. As for Shark, I think the org will give him a look, and then, when Lilly is back, perhaps send Shark back to build up innings in AAA. I still think Shark should be groomed for the pen, though.
I'm having a brain cramp
Who in the heck is Gray?!?
The Blackhawks and the Stanley Cup in 2010.
A bullpen arm we acquired in the trade of future MVPs Jake Fox and Aaron Miles.
Some men learn through what they read. Some men learn through what they're told. Some men have to piss on the railroad tracks. And some men keep on pissin'.
Jeff Gray
As RR noted, we got him in the Jake Fox deal, along with Matt Spencer and Ronny Morla. Gray’s the immediate piece – he’s a decent pen arm, but probably not a dominant guy. The guy I think of is Grant Balfour-ish, a hard thrower with average secondary stuff that you hope can string together a plus year, like Balfour did in 08 for the Rays. Otherwise, he’s probably a middle relief/borderline setup guy. Balfour’s fb is, at least, according to PT value, better, but the positive side is that, by most accounts, Gray has gotten better.
The one thing that Jeff Gray does bring to our pen is juice. It’s easy to forget that this isn’t really the power pen depth that we had a few years back. Gray can run it in the mid-90’s, while occasionally ticking into the high 90’s. Guzman can zip the fb in the mid-90’s, and on paper, it looks like we’re hoping one of them puts it together to fill the setup/occasional closer void. Guys like Dolis/Mateo/Carpenter/Jay Jackson/Cashner add some power, but the latter three aren’t on the 40 yet, and the former 2 aren’t ready … yet. The other guys in AAA that may be called upon have good enough fb’s, but not overpowering.
That said, as long as it’s productive, I could care less what the radar gun says.
You are a deeply knowledgeable guy but with a fatal flaw...
…and that is you give prospects and suspects the extreme benefit of the doubt that they are on the cusp of unleashing their potential at the major league level.
I remember Jeff Gray now. I remember why I forgot him that is !
Never ever confuse QUANTITY with QUALITY. The Cubs are overwhelmed with unproven commodities, most with equal parts strengths and warts, vying for multiple bullpen spots. A lot of these names bandied about are latest rendition of Jon Leicester or Sergio Mitre. That’s about it. Yes, you hope that one or two of them can pop on through and help the Cubs for awhile, ala a Kevin Hart before he turned back into a turd from overexposure to major league hitters.
The Blackhawks and the Stanley Cup in 2010.
The legitimate pitching prospects to keep an eye on are Cashner and Jackson
And maybe, just maybe, Jeff Stevens.
The Blackhawks and the Stanley Cup in 2010.
I can honestly come up with a dozen arms
to ponder before Jeff Stevens. Are you simply discussing upper level arms? Even then, Stevens is on somewhat the same level as a Greg Reinhard, Vince Perkins, or Thomas Diamond for me. He’s more polished than the latter two, but he doesn’t have the stuff of Perkins or Diamond.
you have a fatal flaw
and that is you read too much into my comments for some reason. I rarely have any hidden agenda in my comments (won’t say ever, as I won’t bother to reread all my comments). What I say, I usually mean. I re-read my comments above – please re-read them again.
if comparing Jeff Gray to Grant Balfour is giving the extreme benefit of the doubt, then, yes, I’m guilty. If saying that he’s a borderline setup guy in a good year is giving the extreme benefit of the doubt, then yes, I’m guilty. If saying “As for the pen, whether or not it’s a good pen, time will tell.” is giving the extreme beneift of the doubt, then yes, I’m guilty.
Here’s the thing – I don’t know anyone that really considers Grant Balfour a great pen arm. If I made a mistake in making an assumption there, then I’m sorry, but I figured most people thought of Balfour as your run of the mill middle reliever that can have a hot year now and again … like most pen arms. That leads me to point 2 – almost all middle relievers have borderline setup potential if they have a lucky year.
If saying Jeff Gray has gotten better, I’d point you to his history. While he’s always had solid control, he’s been sharp the last two years … without losing his K rate.
Let me finish with my earlier comment – if saying “time will tell” is being positive about this pen … well, then I apologize for my word choice. I made the assumption that, in saying “time will tell” that people would understand I’m not gung ho on this pen … but that might be my mistake.
I'll add a separate comment to run along with this
I don’t have a particularly high opinion of this pen … but I’m also not about to label this pen a disaster just yet. Like I noted at the end of my comment about the lack of power arm depth in the upper levels, as long as the pen is productive, that’s all that matters. We can talk about a guy having a lucky or unlucky year – at the end of the day, if they are productive, I’m fine. And this pen has enough potential to wonder if it could be productive. I don’t love Grabow, but Guzman/Gray all have enough raw ability that they could string together a lucky season. There’s enough depth and type of arms to rotate in middle relief.
That said, this pen could be an absolute disaster. I have enough faith in Marmol to be okay with him as a closer, but he could implode. Raw arm ability hasn’t translated to top performance yet for Guzman/Gray, so if an injury happens to Marmol, the idea of turning it over to the 3 G’s to close is scary (if Marmol did get hurt, I think Jay Jackson or Andrew Cashner would be rushed to the majors, perhaps not to close immediately … the other internal option that I think I could see the organization ponder, if Marmol got hurt, is Samardzija being shifted fully to the pen … don’t mean to suggest Jay/Andrew/Jeff would close right away, but that, if Marmol got hurt, I think the org would prepare them as possible closers in 2010, while hoping the 3 G’s could get the job done). Grabow/Marshall as your pen lefties is alright, but neither guy is a guy that I consider a dominant pen lefty. And you never know with young arms and their ability to adapt.
Kevin Hart turned into
Grabow and Gorzelanny. For better or worse.
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